Poor Leadership and Bad Management Practices Leading to a Toxic Culture - Associate Software Engineer GIC Employee Review

1.0
May 19, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Salary came in on time. Good office. Free drinks and snacks for pantry

Cons

Threatening Work Environment: On numerous occasions, management used threats of layoffs as a way to manipulate and control employees such as probation warning. The use of such threats created a highly stressful environment where people were constantly fearful for their job security. Tool for Layoffs: Management often relied on a tool to determine layoffs, which felt impersonal and lacked transparency. There was no clear or fair process behind decisions, leading to confusion and frustration among employees who were unsure about their performance and future. Toxic Work Culture: Instead of fostering collaboration and trust, leadership’s approach created division among teams. The constant uncertainty and fear of layoffs negatively impacted morale, making it impossible for employees to feel confident or motivated in their work. Lack of Support and Development: The department lacked proper mentorship and growth opportunities. Instead of focusing on career development, management's primary focus seemed to be on cutting costs and pushing people out, which resulted in a toxic atmosphere where morale was extremely low. Overall, this environment did not promote personal or professional growth, and it felt like management was more focused on maintaining control through fear rather than fostering a positive and productive culture.

Explore other reviews about GIC

5.0
Jun 7, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great company to work for. They pay above fairly, people are friendly and benefits / employee life - work balance is amazing.

Cons

No cons.No cons. no Cons.

1.0
Jul 6, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good vision, good talent (under bad management), market rate compensation

Cons

​Incompetent Leadership: Constant, chaotic reorganizations driven by new senior leads looking for short-term wins rather than sustainable engineering. ​Tone-Deaf Management: Townhalls are heavily curated to ignore genuine feedback regarding burnout and management debt. ​The "Silent Layoff" Strategy: Mass PIPs and aggressive performance grading are being used to quietly trim headcount, destroying team morale. ​Inefficient Ecosystem: Paralyzing security and risk processes block execution at every turn, while engineering teams are expected to run at 200%+ capacity. ​Inefficient HR: A heavy layer of senior HR personnel who offer zero practical guidance, zero empathy, and zero worker protection.

9
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